Woking

Woking is a large town in the west of Surrey, England, about 30 minutes by train from London. Woking was formed around the railway station built over 150 years ago at the junction between trains to the south coast, the south-west of England and the necropolis railway to Brookwood Cemetery. This cemetery was developed by the London Necropolis Company as an overflow burial ground for London's dead. Later, Woking was home to the first crematorium in the United Kingdom (St Johns) and the first mosque in the UK (on Oriental Road).

Notable residents

Woking was home to author H.G. Wells, who had the Martians in The War of the Worlds land on Horsell Common, close to the town centre. There is a statue of a (Wellsian) Martian in the town centre commemorating Woking's fictional destruction. There is also, inexplicably, a Hawker Hunter jet fighter, painted silver and mounted on a pole roughly 10 metres tall.

Related Topics:
Author - H.G. Wells - Martian - The War of the Worlds - Horsell - Hawker Hunter

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The Jam are from Woking, and its singer/songwriter Paul Weller (who later became a member of The Style Council) was born there in 1958. His album title Stanley Road refers to Stanley Road, Woking.

Related Topics:
The Jam - Paul Weller - The Style Council - 1958 - Stanley Road

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Other notable people who were born in Woking include:

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• Ron Dennis, team principal of the McLaren Formula One team, 1947
• Harry Hill, comedian, 1964
• Sean Lock, comedian, 1963
• Rick Parfitt, guitarist for Status Quo, 1948
• Delia Smith, celebrity chef, 1941